Sanctuary by Agatha Christie

Diana Harmon arrives at the local church only to discover a dying man. His final words are hard to understand but she can make out the word ‘sanctuary’... From Double Sin and Other Stories and Miss Marple's Final Cases.

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Diana Harmon arrives at the local church only to discover a dying man. His final words are hard to understand but she can make out the word ‘sanctuary’. Who is behind this poor man’s murder? And why are his relatives so keen to have his coat back? Perhaps Miss Marple can help...

This short story was first published under the title Murder at the Vicarage (not to be confused with the Marple novel of the same name) in This Week, in the US, 1954. It was published in the UK later that year, retitled Sanctuary, and was auctioned to the highest bidder, the funds being donated to the Westminster Abbey restoration appeal. The magazine Woman's Journal won the auction and stated that it was 'a considerable sum'.

The story first appeared in a book form in the US collection Double Sin and Other Stories, 1961 and later in the UK in Miss Marple's Final Cases, 1979.